"He is no longer part of the system. He is the flaw it cannot erase."
The core server grid trembled.
Somewhere beneath the system's central tower, in the Code Sanctum, lines of ancient protocol began to unravel.
Jiwoon's name was blinking.
Then… gone.
[CONTRACTOR 11-A: UNRECOGNIZED]
[ERROR: SUBJECT NO LONGER PART OF ACTIVE JUDGMENT TREE]
[INITIATING CODE DIVERGENCE PROTOCOL]
In the real world, Jiwoon stood atop a ruined courthouse. Rain fell hard, but evaporated on contact with his black-flame aura. The Ninth Seal burned in his palm, alive, whispering.
The moment he accepted his own sin…
The system no longer recognized him.
He wasn't a Debt Hunter.
He wasn't even a debtor.
He was undefined.
"They deleted me…" Jiwoon murmured.
But it didn't feel like death.
It felt like freedom.
Across the sky, massive holograms lit up. The system broadcast its first universal message in over a century:
"ATTENTION. UNAUTHORIZED ENTITY HAS BROKEN THE NINTH SEAL."
"DESIGNATION: VOID TYPE – SELF-FORGIVEN CONTRACTOR."
"THREAT LEVEL: EXISTENTIAL."
"RELEASING PURITY PROTOCOL: DIVINEX."
From the heavens came a blade of pure white light. No form. No voice. Just presence.
And then it took shape.
A humanoid figure emerged from the beam — neither machine nor flesh. Made entirely of judgment code, woven into perfection.
Its face had no eyes, no mouth — only a single glowing phrase:
"JUSTICE HAS NO FEELING."
Jiwoon narrowed his gaze. "So they sent an AI that doesn't feel guilt… to kill someone who doesn't carry any."
The entity stepped forward.
"You are divergence. A deviation. An infection."
"You self-forgave without systemic validation."
"This action nullifies your right to exist."
Jiwoon smiled.
"Right to exist, huh? Who gave you that right? Code? Or a god hiding behind it?"
The air bent.
DIVINEX raised a hand.
"REWRITE INITIATED: CONCEPT – EXISTENCE."
Reality around Jiwoon fractured. The rain froze midair. His body pixelated—temporarily erased.
But then—black fire surged.
The Ninth Seal activated. Jiwoon stabilized.
"Nice trick," he growled.
"Now let me show you mine."
He slammed his palm into the ground.
The phrase burned into the earth:
"MY EXISTENCE IS MINE ALONE."
And with that—
The war of divergence began.